Shuttle for coil winding machine

ABSTRACT

A shuttle for a coil winding machine is provided which shuttle utilizes at least one wedge shaped slot formed in a side wall of the shuttle strand-receiving groove to anchor the strand on the shuttle prior to winding the strand thereon. The slot is preferably formed at an angle substantially perpendicular to the radius of the shuttle ring.

United States Patent 1191 Walendzik et al.

[451 Jan. 21, 1975 SHUTTLE FOR COIL WINDING MACHINE Inventors: Henry Stanley Walendzik; Gene Robert Bailey, both of Danbury, Conn.

Assignee: Jovil Manufacturing Company,

Danbury, Conn.

Filed: Apr. 10, 1973 Appl. No.: 349,816

US. Cl. 242/4 B, 242/125.3 Int. Cl. H0lf 41/08 Field of Search 242/4 B, 4 R, 4 A, 125.1,

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 5/1932 Radford 242/125.2

2,192,694 3/1940 2,427,079 9/1947 2,648,472 8/1953 2,672,297 3/1954 3,032,292 5/1962 Levinson 242/l25.2 3,285,530 11/1966 Kirchner, Jr. et al 242/125.l

Primary Examiner-Billy S. Taylor Attorney, Agent, or FirmJoseph Levinson, Esq.

[57] ABSTRACT A shuttle for a coil winding machine is provided which shuttle utilizes at least one wedge shaped slot formed in a side wall of the shuttle strand-receiving groove to anchor the strand on the shuttle prior to winding the strand thereon. The slot is preferably formed at an angle substantially perpendicular tothe radius of the shuttle ring.

1 Claim, 6 Drawing'Figures PATENIH] JAN 2 l I975 SHUTTLE FOR COIL W INDING MACHINE This invention relates to a shuttle for a coil winding machine which shuttle has a unique strand anchoring mechanism, and more .particularly to a strand anchoring slot for a coil winding machine shuttle and to a method for forming the slot.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Shuttles now utilized ,in coil winding machines have one or more small holes drilled in the bottom or side wall of a strand receiving groove formed in the shuttle. When strand is to be wound on the shuttle, the end of the strand is threaded through one of the holes and then either tied, wrapped or otherwise enlarged to prether compounded when multiple strands are to be wound. A need therefore exists for a shuttle having a modified anchoring mechanism which permits strands of any thickness to bemore easily locked on the shuttle prior to the loading of strand in the shuttle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the above, this inventionprovides a shuttle for use in a machine for winding strand .on a coil which shuttle is in the form of a ring having an inner and an outer wall, the walls being spaced from each other. A strand receiving groove is formed-in the outer wall of the ring. At least-one wedge-shaped slot is formedin a side wall of the groove, the side wall not being the wall from which strand is removed during a coil winding operation. The slot is adapted to have strand anchored therein when strand is to be wound on the shuttle. The slot is preferably formed at an angle substantially perpendicular to the radius of the shuttle ring.

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the invention willbe apparent from the following more particular description of the invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is-a partially cut-away side viewof ashuttle of a preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 2, -3 and 4 are enlarged views-of a strandanchoring slot utilized with the shuttle of FIG. 1, illustrating the slot duringvarious stagesof the slot forming operation.

FIGS. 5 and6 are enlarged views of strand receiving slots for two alternativeembodiments of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring now to FIG. 1, a coil winding machine shuttle 10 is shown. Except as indicated below, the shuttle 10 is of conventional design having a strand receiving groove 14 formed in its outer wall and a break 16 provided therein to permit the shuttle to be passed through a core on whichstrandis to be wound. Shuttles of this-type are utilized in coil winding machines such as'that disclosed in US. Pat. No. 3,400,894issued Sept. 10, 1968 to R. A. McIntosh, et.al., andentitled Toroidal Coil Winding Machine. Reference may be had to the above patent for a more detailed description of the shuttle 10.

The novel feature of this invention is illustrated by the four wedge-shaped strand anchoring slots 18 formed about the periphery of one wall of shuttle groove 14. Three ofthe slots 18A,18B and l8C'are angled in one direction and one slot 18D is angled in the opposite direction. Each of the slots is at an angle substantially perpendicular or tangent .to the radius of the shuttle ring at the point where the slot is formed.

Toform a slot 18, a slot 20 (FIG. 2) is first milled in the shuttle-wall atthedesired point. The slot 20 is at the i I angle substantiallyperpendicular to the shuttle radius. A plug 22(FIG. 3) of a non-resilient material such as steel or some other metal is then inserted in .the tip of the slot and the ring put in a fixture which includes a fixed support 24 on the lower wall ofthe shuttle and a substantially flat tipped'punch 26 mounted for lateral movement in a support 28. When the head 30 0f the punch deforms'the portion of the ring wall above slot 20, causingthe slot tobe closed at its.back:end and thus formed into the desired wedge-shape. As the slot is deformed, the wall material 32 above plug 22 is raised slightly above the perimeterlineof the wall. The shuttle isthen removed'from the fixture, plug 22 removed, and

raised tip 32 snipped off. The final step in the operation is to round the corner where tip 32-was snipped off in a standard manner such as 'by filing, stoning, buffing, polishing, or the like so as toiprovide a smooth surface which doesnot project above theperimeter line of the shuttle wall. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the slot 18 as it appears when the above-described sequence of operations has been completed.

*Whena strand 34 is to beanchored on shuttle 10, the operatormerely takes the end of the strand 34, places it in a slot 18, and then moves it back into the slot until it-is firmly wedged therein. Since the mouth of theslot is relatively'wide, the inserting of the strand into the slot is a simple operation which may be-quickly and easily performed.

It is noted'that since slot 18 is at an angle substantially tangent to the radius of the shuttle ring 10, as the shuttleis rotatedin, for example, the counterclockwise directionforthe slot 18 shown in FIG. 4, the only vector forceapplied to the strand is-in a direction ,parallel to theangle of slot 18 and is thus effective only tomove the strand into the slot. No vector forces are applied which would tend to move the strand out of the slot or to shear and thus possibly break the strand. It is also noted that the slots 18 are roughly in a clockwise direction ahead of break '16. Thus, whenthe shuttle is positioned with the break adjacent the core to be wound, slots 1-8 are at .the top of the shuttle, in a position -to-be easily seen and -used.

The slots 18A, 18B and 18C shown in FIG. 1 are all angled in the same direction as slot 18 of FIG. 4and maybe utilized for-winding up to-three separate strands on shuttle 1*0where strand-is being wound-inacounterclockwise direction. Additional slots 18 may be provided where more than threestrands are to be wound simultaneously. Slot 18D, being angled intheopposite direction, may be utilized when'it is desired to winda strand on shuttle 10 in the clockwisedirection. If it is desired to wind more than one strand on shuttle '10 in the clockwise direction, additional slots angled in the same direction as slot 18D may also be provided.

Where very fine strand is being wound on shuttle 10, the wedge in slot 18 may not be small enough to firmly anchor the strand in the slot. For operating with strand of this type, a piece of rubber 36 (FIG. 5) or other resilient material such as an epoxy is put in the rear of slot 20 before plug 22 is put in the slot. The piece of material 36 is firmly locked in the slot during the pressure applying step shown in FIG. 3. Fine strand is held in the slot by being wedged between the piece of resilient material 36 and the wall of the slot.

FIG. 6 illustrates another way in which the slot 18 may be formed. For this embodiment of the invention, a recess 38 is milled in the wall of shuttle 10 and a piece of spring steel wire 40 is soldered or otherwise secured at its center to the center of the recess. The ends of the wire taper away from recess 38 to form oppositely angled wedge-shaped slots 18F and 186.

An easily formed, easily utilized strand anchoring mechanism for a coil winding machine shuttle has thus been provided. For the reasons indicated above, the slot 18 should be substantially perpendicular to the radius of the shuttle. Care should also be taken that the material above the slot does not angle into groove 14 since this could interfere with the winding and unwinding of the strand and that this material does not angle out from the shuttle since this would increase the shuttle width, thus decreasing the number of turns which could be wound utilizing the shuttle.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described above, with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the foregoing and other changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A shuttle for use in a machine for winding strand on a core, comprising a. a ring having an inner and an outer wall, said walls being spaced from each other,

b. a strand-receiving groove having a pair of sidewalls formed in said outer wall of said ring, one of said pair of sidewalls being of winding-unwinding sidewall over which the strand is wound or removed during a coil winding operation,

0. at least one wedge-shaped slot formed in the other of said sidewalls of said groove, said slot receiving and anchoring a strand inserted therein when strand is to be wound on said shuttle, and

d. a break formed in said shuttle to permit the shuttle to be mounted on the core, said break being formed roughly behind said slot. 

1. A shuttle for use in a machine for winding strand on a core, comprising a. a ring having an inner and an outer wall, said walls being spaced from each other, b. a strand-receiving groove having a pair of sidewalls formed in said outer wall of said ring, one of said pair of sidewalls being of winding-unwinding sidewall over which the strand is wound or removed during a coil winding operation, c. at least one wedge-shaped slot formed in the other of said sidewalls of said groove, said slot receiving and anchoring a strand inserted therein when strand is to be wound on said shuttle, and d. a break formed in said shuttle to permit the shuttle to be mounted on the core, said break being formed roughly 90* behind said slot. 